Featured Research

New method to measure cortisol could lead to better understanding of development of common diseases

Date:

May 3, 2011

Source:

European Society of Endocrinology

Summary:

A new method to measure the amount of the stress hormone cortisol found in the body over the long term could lead to new research avenues to study the development of common conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and depression. Researchers have found that hair can be used to create a retrospective timeline of exposure to cortisol. Cortisol is implicated in the development of many common conditions and this new technique could allow us to study its role better.

Share This

A new method to measure the amount of the stress hormone cortisol found in the body over the long term could lead to new research avenues to study the development of common conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and depression. In results announced at the European Congress of Endocrinology, researchers found that hair can be used to create a retrospective timeline of exposure to cortisol. Cortisol is implicated in the development of many common conditions and this new technique could allow us to study its role better.

Related Articles

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and its primary role is to help maintain body metabolism. If the body is put under (psychological or physical) stress, cortisol levels increase to allow the body to respond to the situation. Currently the standard method to measure cortisol levels is to take a blood or saliva sample. However, since cortisol is released in a circadian rhythm and with pulses throughout the day, levels can fluctuate considerably, meaning it is difficult to estimate an individual's long-term exposure to cortisol through blood and saliva tests alone. Finding a new non-invasive method to measure long-term cortisol exposure could have a major impact on our ability to determine the role of cortisol in the development of many common diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression.

Dr Laura Manenschijn and her team from Erasmus MC in The Netherlands collected scalp hair samples from 195 healthy individuals and from 11 patients with Cushing's syndrome (a condition where the adrenal glands produce too much cortisol) and 3 patients with Addison's disease (a condition where the adrenal glands are unable to produce cortisol) and tested their cortisol levels. All participants filled out a questionnaire to assess what products and treatments they used on their hair. A subset of 46 participants also had their waist and hip measurements taken.

The team found that hair cortisol levels correlated positively with waist to hip ratio (r=0.425, p=0.003) and waist circumference (r=0.392, p=0.007), meaning people with higher exposure to cortisol showed higher abdominal obesity. In individuals with Cushing's syndrome the levels of cortisol in hair were significantly higher than in healthy individuals (p<0.0001). In long hair of individuals with Cushing's syndrome and Addison's disease, the levels of hair cortisol corresponded with clinical records of the amount of cortisol they had been exposed to. Additionally, in long hair of healthy women, the team were able to record alterations in cortisol exposure due to psychological stress over time. Hair cortisol levels were not influenced by gender (p=0.353), hair colour (p=0.413), frequency of hair wash (p=0.673) or hair products (p=0.109), although there was a slight, borderline significant, decrease in cortisol levels in hair that was treated (dyed/bleached) (p=0.08).

This is the first time that cortisol measurements taken from hair have been shown to correlate with known tissue effects of cortisol, such as abdominal obesity, and to provide a retrospective timeline of exposure to this hormone. The next step is to use this technique in larger studies to examine the role of long-term cortisol exposure in the development of cardiovascular disease and depression. Ultimately, this could lead to a better classification of individuals at risk of common conditions and novel approaches to prevent these.

Researcher Dr Laura Manenschijn from Erasmus MC said: "We have suspected for a while that cortisol may be implicated in the development of many common conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and depression. However, until now, doctors have not been able to accurately measure cortisol exposure over the long-term and so research into this has been limited.

"Our results are very exciting as they show that measuring the amount of cortisol in hair can potentially be used to monitor a person's long-term exposure to cortisol. This technique could lead to many potential uses in clinical research and has the additional benefit that it is easy to use and non-invasive.

"The results of this study show that hair cortisol is a reliable measure of long-term cortisol exposure. Now, we would like to use this tool in larger studies to examine the role of cortisol in the development of conditions such as cardiovascular disease and depression."

European Society of Endocrinology. "New method to measure cortisol could lead to better understanding of development of common diseases." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 May 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110502183715.htm>.

European Society of Endocrinology. (2011, May 3). New method to measure cortisol could lead to better understanding of development of common diseases. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 31, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110502183715.htm

European Society of Endocrinology. "New method to measure cortisol could lead to better understanding of development of common diseases." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110502183715.htm (accessed March 31, 2015).

More From ScienceDaily

More Health & Medicine News

Featured Research

Mar. 31, 2015  A drug being developed to treat osteoporosis may also be useful for treating osteogenesis imperfecta or brittle bone disease, a rare but potentially debilitating bone disorder that that is present ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  It is possible to quantify and classify the effects of different diseases on the activity of intestinal bacteria, new research demonstrates for the first time. Human intestinal flora, known as ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  During prenatal development, the brains of most animals, including humans, develop specifically male or female characteristics. But scientists have known little about the details of how this ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  A history of depression may put women at risk for developing diabetes during pregnancy, according to research. This study also pointed to how common depression is during pregnancy and the need for ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  Women who are abused by their partner or ex-partner are much less likely to use contraception; this exposes them to sexually transmitted diseases and leads to more frequent unintended pregnancies and ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  Babies receiving poor nutrition in the womb tend to be smaller at birth, which has been linked to the development of obesity and other health problems later in life. Researchers continue to discover ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  In addition to their physical injuries, women who are victims of domestic violence are also at a greater risk of mental health problems such as depression and psychotic symptoms. "We studied the ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  New research has scientists re-thinking how a lethal fungus grows and kills immune cells. The study hints at a new approach to therapy for Candida albicans, one of the most common causes of ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  As the United States faces transplant waiting lists that continue to grow longer over time, there is increasing debate about the proper way to incentivize living donations. Due to organ shortages, ... full story

Featured Videos

Solitair Device Aims to Takes Guesswork out of Sun Safety

Reuters - Innovations Video Online (Mar. 31, 2015)  The Solitair device aims to take the confusion out of how much sunlight we should expose our skin to. Small enough to be worn as a tie or hair clip, it monitors the user&apos;s sun exposure by taking into account their skin pigment, location and schedule. Matthew Stock reports.
Video provided by Reuters

Soda, Salt and Sugar: The Next Generation of Taxes

Washington Post (Mar. 30, 2015)  Denisa Livingston, a health advocate for the Dinι Community Advocacy Alliance, and the Post&apos;s Abby Phillip discuss efforts around the country to make unhealthy food choices hurt your wallet as much as your waistline.
Video provided by Washington Post

S. Leone in New Anti-Ebola Lockdown

AFP (Mar. 28, 2015)  Sierra Leone imposed a three-day nationwide lockdown Friday for the second time in six months in a bid to prevent a resurgence of the deadly Ebola virus. Duration: 01:17
Video provided by AFP

Related Stories

June 18, 2014  Depression is almost twice as common, and poor quality of life almost five times as common, in people with bipolar disorder who have elevated or low levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the ... full story

Apr. 17, 2013  Hair strands contain valuable information about senior citizens' stress levels that can be used to determine an individual's cardiovascular disease risk, according to a recent ... full story

Oct. 3, 2011  A recent study found that shift work at a young age is associated with elevated long-term cortisol levels and increased BMI. Previous studies have shown that long-term elevated cortisol levels lead ... full story

Sep. 3, 2010  Researchers have provided the first direct evidence using a biological marker, to show chronic stress plays an important role in heart attacks. The scientists developed a method to measure cortisol ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.